The Do’s and Don’ts of Social Media

It is generally considered that social media can be a useful tool for business both for engaging with existing clients as well as reaching new audiences and new clients. In a recent report by Smart Insights, a specialist internet marketing company, the impressive number of social media users was revealed. Key takeaways from their Global Digital Report 2019 include:

• The number of internet users worldwide in 2019 is 4.388 billion, up 9.1% year-on-year;
• The number of social media users worldwide in 2019 is 3.484 billion, up 9% year-on-year;
• The number of mobile phone users in 2019 is 5.112 billion, up 2% year-on-year.

With so many users, social media represents a chance for practices to connect directly with their clients and, for clients, a way to keep abreast with the latest developments of the practice that they frequent. However, social media can also raise problems, in particular, as a way to mitigate and manage complaints as well as having to ensure that the content produced by the practice is well managed and showcases the practice to the best of its ability. We have compiled a list of do’s and don’ts for practices to manage their social media accounts and to effectively and efficiently respond to their clients.

Do’s

• Do: engage effectively, post frequently and interact with your clients
• Do: engage and be open to inserting personality into your posts and responses showcasing your business values and uniqueness.
• Do: tell stories and share customer experiences (with their permission) as part of your story. This is an effective way to build trust with both potential and existing clients and a way to build your brand awareness.
• Do: use it for more than just marketing. Social media is not just a platform for marketing. Used effectively, it can be a great tool to build and manage client relations, promote your services and products as well as answer client service-related questions.

Don’ts

• Don’t: promote sales and ignore interactions. Interaction is one of the most effective ways to build a community around your brand and offer support to your clients and followers.
• Don’t: always promote your sales. Understand what your clients can gain from your expertise, knowledge and skills. Offering advice, beyond the promotion of products, is a way to stand out and offer more to your clients.
• Don’t: ignore customer comments and posts on your profiles. As an additional contact point, beyond emails and phone calls, you will attract comments on your posts and profiles from clients. It is important to manage these interactions and ensure that they are answered or directed to the appropriate resource or person.

Social Media as a tool for mediation

As tradition means of connection between businesses change it is important to understand how to interact. Traditional means of contact between a business and clients extended to phone calls, letters and emails – all private interactions between the client and the practice. With social media, the element of private conversation has been eroded meaning that any negative comments or interactions are public and visible to anyone. Therefore it is important to understand how to interact and to manage negative comments in order to address the issues involved, understand the client, offer a solution and to resolve the problem.

In order to manage social media correctly, ensure that you:

• Respond to all comments both positive and negative;
• Direct negative comments to a more private setting and encourage contact to be made through email or via the phone;
• Respond with understanding and an appropriate tone;
• Assist the client in a suitable manner and aim to resolve their complaint.

For more information on how the OCCS can assist your practice, contact our offices directly on 0344 800 5071 or via enquiries@opticalcomplaints.co.uk.